Identity management for open overlay for social networks and online services

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present invention provide methods and systems for managing the multiple identities used by a user. The user&#39;s existing contact lists, website accounts, buddy lists, and the like are analyzed to determine the identities used by the user. A graph is then constructed in order to track and integrate the multiple identities of the user in a social network. The social network graph may then be used by a social network overlay so that the user can share information across their different identities with different users that only know some of the user&#39;s multiple identities.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to online services and communicationstools and, more particularly, to identity management in social networks.

2. Background of the Invention

In its short history, Internet usage has been mainly driven by portalsand search engines, such as Yahoo! and Google. Recently, the rapidgrowth of social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, hasrevealed a new trend of Internet usage. Social networking generallyrelates to services and tools that help users maintain and expand theircircles of friends usually by exploiting existing relationships. Socialnetworking sites have shown potential to become the places on theInternet where many people spend most of their time, thus making thesesites the main entry point for online activity. Often times, thesesocial networking sites can become the focal point of sharinginformation, such as links, multimedia, music, and the like.

In general, social networking sites and other online services of theInternet offer a mix of features and tools, such as message boards,games, journals or web logs (“blogs”). Many of these sites try to buildcommunities around multi-media or popular culture, such as television,film, music, etc. These sites and their features are designed to keepusers clicking on advertising-supported pages of the site. Thus, theknown social networking sites employ a closed platform of services thatattempt to keep their user-base captive to the site.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult for users to maintain theirmultiplicity of accounts for their social networks. For example, userscan have multiple profiles at multiple sites for their music, email,instant messaging, etc. However, most users eventually do not keep upwith all of their accounts. For example, many users have four or fivee-mail addresses, but essentially may use only one or two of them.

In addition, the Internet is crowded with a large number of socialnetworking sites and sharing tools. For example, the recent supremacy ofiTunes has triggered a plethora of music service offerings. As anotherexample, the recent success of YouTube and Google Video has sparked anexplosion of video-sharing sites.

Unfortunately, due to their current business model, the known socialnetwork sites are vulnerable to spammers and other forms of fraud. Thus,many closed social networking sites will likely become abandoned or amajor hassle for users to maintain.

Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide methods and systems thatserve as an open platform for users to maintain their personas across aplurality of social networking sites and online services. It may also bedesirable to provide methods and systems that serve as an open overlaythat serves as a consistent context by which users interact with socialnetworking sites and online services.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one feature of the present invention, a method offorming a social network of users is provided. It is determined when auser has invited a new user to join the social network. A temporarygroup is formed that includes the new user in response to theinvitation. Information is provided to the temporary group thatindicates existing groups of the social network. An existing group isselected based on input received from the new user. Information is thendistributed about the new user among users of the existing groupselected by the new user.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, a method offorming a social network of users is provided. Multiple invitations to anew user are identified. The new user is assigned a temporary identity.The temporary identity for the new user is distributed until the newuser completes registration into the social network. All inviters of thenew user are notified when the new user completes registration. Thetemporary identity is then converted into a permanent identity when thenew user completes registration into the social network.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, a method ofviewing a user's identity in a social network is provided. The user hasa plurality of associated identity resources known by only some of theother users in the social network. A request is received from anotheruser to contact the user based on one of associated identity resourcesof the user. Views of the other user are restricted for the identity ofthe user to the associated identity resource used by that other user.

Additional features of the present invention will be set forth in partin the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. It is to beunderstood that both the foregoing general description and the followingdetailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are notrestrictive of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention andtogether with the description, serve to explain the principles of theinvention. In the figures:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system that is in accordance withembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary architecture for an open overlay servicethat is consistent with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary architecture for clients that areconsistent with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary home page that may be provided by theopen overlay service in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary button that may be installed on abrowser at a client of the open overlay service;

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary account settings page that may beprovided by the open overlay service;

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary friend list page that may be provided bythe open overlay service.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary group list page that may be provided bythe open overlay service;

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary invitation form that may be provided bythe open overlay service;

FIG. 10 illustrates another exemplary groups list page that may beprovided by the open overlay service;

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary link “swarm” enabled by the openoverlay service;

FIG. 12 shows another example of indicating share activity on the grouplevel of the open overlay service.

FIG. 13 shows an example of a link “swarm” as it may appear on a client;and

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of “music radar” for a user of the openoverlay service.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention provide methods and systems formanaging the multiple identities used by a user. The user's existingcontact lists, website accounts, buddy lists, and the like are analyzedto determine the identities used by the user. A graph is thenconstructed in order to track and integrate the multiple identities ofthe user in a social network. The social network graph may then be usedby a social network overlay so that the user can share informationacross their different identities with different users that only knowsome of the user's multiple identities.

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of theinvention, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whereverpossible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout thedrawings to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 that is consistent with the principlesof the present invention. As shown, the system 100 may comprise one ormore clients 102, a plurality of services 104, an open overlay service106, and a network 108. In general, system 100 may be implemented on awidely available data network, such as the Internet. For example, system100 may be implemented as a combination web site and client applicationthat enables users and friends to participate in a live social context.These components will now be generally described.

Client 102 provides a user interface for system 100. Client 102 may beimplemented using a variety of devices and software. For example client102 may be implemented on a personal computer, workstation, or terminal.In addition, client 102 may run under an operating system, such as theLINUX operating system, the Microsoft™ Windows operating system, and thelike. Client 102 may also operate through an Internet browserapplication, such as Firefox by Mozilla, Internet Explorer by MicrosoftCorporation, or Netscape Navigator by Netscape CommunicationsCorporation.

One skilled in the art will also recognize that client 102 may beimplemented with various peripheral devices, such as a display, one ormore speakers, and other suitable devices. Client 102 may also beimplemented with various peripherals for accepting input from a user,such as a keyboard, a mouse, and the like. Although FIG. 1 shows anumber of clients 102, system 100 may include any number of clients.

Services 104 are the applications and services that users of system 100already use. Services 104 may be implemented on one or more servers thatare well known to those skilled in the art. Rather than recreatingfunctionality, open overlay service 106 merely interfaces services 104and allows users to seamlessly continue using the services, such associal networking services, instant messaging, etc., that they currentlyuse. Examples of services 104 include iTunes, Yahoo Music Engine,MySpace, Friendster, AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, etc. Anysort of online service may be incorporated into the context provided byopen overlay service 106.

Open overlay service 106 stores, manages, and provides access control tothe various services and social networks of clients 102. In general,open overlay service 106 is essentially a web site and applicationservice that stores and forwards information shared by users, as well asuser profiles and social network information. Open overlay service 106may be hosted as a public instance, similar in fashion to a service,such as Wikipedia. In addition, open overlay service 106 may providevarious application programming interfaces that have an openspecification so that anyone can create an interface.

For example, open overlay service 106 may process requests to retrievean object, document, image file, web page, and the like. Open overlayservice 106 may be implemented using a variety of devices and software.For example, open overlay service 106 may be implemented as a web siterunning on one or more servers that support various application programsand stored procedures.

The components of system 100 may be coupled together via network 108.Network 108 may comprise one or more networks, such as a local areanetwork, the Internet, or other type of wide area network. In addition,network 108 may support a wide variety of known protocols, such as thetransport control protocol and Internet protocol (“TCP/IP”)and-hypertext transport protocol (“HTTP”).

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary architecture for open overlay service106 that is consistent with the principles of the present invention. Asshown, open overlay service 106 may comprise an operating system 200, anapplication server 202, a messaging server 204, a messaging agent 206, aweb server 208, and a user database 210. These components may beimplemented as software, firmware, or some combination of both, whichmay be loaded into memory of the machine embodying open overlay service106. The software components may be written in a variety of programminglanguages, such as C, C++, Java, etc. These components will now begenerally described.

Operating system (OS) 200 is an integrated collection of routines thatservice the sequencing and processing of programs and applicationsrunning in open overlay service 106. OS 200 may provide many services,such as resource allocation, scheduling, input/output control, and datamanagement. OS 200 may be predominantly software, but may also comprisepartial or complete hardware implementations and firmware. Well knownexamples of operating systems that are consistent with the principles ofthe present invention include the Linux operating system, the UNIXoperating system. In addition, OS 200 may operate in conjunction withother software, such as an application server, such as JBoss, toimplement various features of open overlay service 106.

Application server 202 provides the logic for analyzing and managing theoperations of open overlay service 106. As previously noted, applicationserver 202 may be written in a variety of programming languages, such asC, C++, Java, etc.

For example, one responsibility of application server 202 may bemanaging the various identities of the users of open overlay service106. As noted previously, a single person may have multiple identitiesthat they use for various online services and social networks. Forexample, a person named, John Smith, may use jsmith@domain.com as anidentity one service, but use smithj@domain2.com as his identity onanother service.

In one embodiment, in order to track the various users of open overlayservice 106, application server 202 may assign each user a uniqueidentifier, such as a numeric identifier. Application server 202 maythen rely on the identity resources (i.e., email address, account names,screen names, etc.) used by services 104 to identify a person. In someembodiments, application server 202 generates a graph of each socialnetwork within open overlay service 106 in terms of person's names andthe identity resources from the point of view of a particular user basedon what is trusted by that user.

For example, given information about a person's name, their uniqueidentifier assigned by application server 202, and associations toidentity resources trusted by other users, application server 202 cangenerate a list of person names and identity resources (i.e., emailaddress, account names, etc.) that should be visible to a particularuser. Hence, the particular user will only be allowed to see identityresources they happen to (or only) know about that user and identityresources that have been verified by application server 202. Forexample, a user A may have a unique identifier of 2345, and emailaddress #1 and email address #2 as identity resources. A user B may onlyknow about email address #1 for user A. Meanwhile, a user C maysimilarly only know about email address #2 for user A. Thus, for user B,application server 202 will only allow user B to view and use emailaddress #1 as an identity resource for user A. Likewise, applicationserver 202 will only allow user C to view and use email address #2 as anidentity resource for user A. However, if user A subsequently explicitlyindicates to application server 202 that both email addresses #1 and 2can be trusted, then users B and C will then be also allowed to viewboth email addresses #1 and 2, as well. The primary uses of thisinformation by open overlay service 106 may be for sharing a link withperson by addressing that person either by an email address or by ashort nickname, or for viewing a list of persons in open overlay service106 that they think they know.

Application server 202 may also determine what information of a usershould be public or private. In some embodiments, application server 202may default to making information public, but provide an option, such asa checkbox, that allows the user to designate information as private.Application server 202 may also employ per page settings, such as allprivate or all public. Other privacy policies may be implemented byapplication server 202.

Application server 202 may further provide various search features. Forexample, application server 202 may allow users to search for otherusers based on various criteria, such as age, gender, school, etc.Application server 202 may also allow searches for various resources,such as email addresses, topics, links, etc.

Messaging server 204 manages communications between open overlay service106 and clients 102. For example, messaging server 204 may be configuredto periodically poll clients 102 on a regular basis and have themrequest information from services 104. Messaging server 204 may beimplemented based on well-known hardware and software and utilizewell-known protocols, such as TCP/IP, hypertext transport protocol, etc.

Messaging server 204 may be configured to handle a wide variety of dataand may handle data that is in any format. For example, information fromclients 102 may be in the form of an extensible markup language (XML)file or a network location, such as a uniform resource locator (URL) onthe Internet. Alternatively, messaging server 204 may be configured toobtain information from services 104 directly in a peer-to-peer fashion.

Messaging agent 206 operates in conjunction with messaging server 204 tomonitor the activity of clients 102. In particular, messaging agent 206may be a relatively small and focused computer application (or “bot”)that runs continuously, in the background simultaneously for each ofclients 102, as other programs are being run, and responds automaticallyto a user's activity clients 102.

Messaging agent 206 may be created by open overlay service 106 (i.e., byapplication server 202) for the benefit of the users at clients 102.Alternatively, for example, messaging server 204 may send information toclients 102 upon request, perform automated searches, or monitormessages or events at services 104.

In one embodiment, messaging server 204 and/or messaging agent 206 maywork in conjunction to perform client-side data scraping on services104. Client-side data scraping may be desirable in some instances whereservices 104 refuse or block a direct interface with open overlayservice 106. For example, MySpace and AOL's instant messaging servicemay be implemented as one of services 104, but is known to block proxyrequests for a client.

Client-side data scraping may be initiated by messaging server 204 orusing information provided by messaging server. Messaging server 204 maypoll client overlay client 302 to trigger a request to one of services104. Accordingly, overlay client 302 may cause one of serviceapplications 306 to interface with service 104 and request data fromthat service, such as web page refresh. Since the request originatedfrom client 102, service 104 will provide a response. Overlay client 302may detect this response and forward it to messaging agent 206.Messaging server 204 may then pass this response. Of course, the pollingmay be configured at overlay client 302 based on information provided tomessaging server 204.

Messaging server 204 evaluates the response and determines if anotification event is needed. If notification is needed, messagingserver 204 send a message to overlay client 302. The notification maythen be displayed to the user using, for example, browser 304 or serviceapplication 306.

One application of client-side data scraping may be used to detect whenmessages or postings have been entered on one of services 104. Forexample, on MySpace, users often repeatedly refresh their pages inanticipation of receiving a post or message from a friend. Withclient-side data scraping, open overlay service 106 may automaticallyperform this function, and more conveniently, indicate when the user hasreceived activity on their MySpace page. This notification may appear inthe form of a pop-up bubble or may be displayed as a link on the user'spage in open overlay service 106. Of course, other applications ofclient-side data scraping are consistent with the principles of thepresent invention.

Web server 208 provides a communications interface between open overlayservice 106, clients 102, and services 104. For example, web server 208may be configured to provide information that indicates the status ofclient 102. Such communications may be based on well known protocols andprogramming languages, such as HTTP, TCP/IP and Java. Interfacesprovided by web server 208 may be implemented using well known Internettechnologies, such as web pages, which are well known to those skilledin the art.

User database 210 maintains information identifying users and clients102. User database 210 may be implemented using well known databasetechnology, such as relational databases, or object oriented databases.

For example, user database 210 may include information indicating one ormore operating systems and applications installed on clients 102 as wellas services subscribed to by users. User database 210 may also compriseinformation related to authenticating a user determining the respectiverights of a user relative to other users. For example, a user may selectvarious groups or channels of content in which they are interested inreceiving information. User database 210 may further include informationthat indicates the permissions and delivery of the information toclients 102. Other information that may be included in user database 210may comprise information, such as system and individual permissions ofclients 102 on services 104, activation keys, registration information,and payment information (such as credit card information).

Furthermore, user database 210 may include other information related tothe manner in which open overlay service 106 communicates with clients102. For example, this information may relate to periodicity ofnotifications, email addresses, format of the information, and the like.User database 210 may include data structures to log the activities andtransactions of its users. Activities, such as recent links, history ofoperations, etc., that may be logged in user database 210 are well knownto those skilled in the art.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary architecture for clients 102 that areconsistent with the principles of the present invention. As noted,clients 102 may be implemented on a conventional device, such aspersonal computer, laptop, and the like. Such devices are well known tothose skilled in the art and may typically include hardware, such as aprocessor, a memory, a display, a storage device, a keyboard, a mouse,and a network interface for network 108. Such hardware supports theoperation of various components software. As shown, the software runningon client 102 may comprise an operating system 300, an overlay client302, a browser 304, one or more service applications 306, and a userdata cache 308. Each of these software components will now be generallydescribed.

Operating system (OS) 300 is an integrated collection of routines thatservice the sequencing and processing of programs and applicationsrunning in open overlay service 106. OS 300 may provide many services,such as resource allocation, scheduling, input/output control, and datamanagement. OS 300 may be predominantly software, but may also comprisepartial or complete hardware implementations and firmware. Well knownexamples of operating systems that are consistent with the principles ofthe present invention include Mac OS by Apple Computer, the Windowsfamily of operating systems by Microsoft Corporation, and the Linuxoperating system.

Overlay client 302 maintains an inventory of the software and serviceapplications 306 installed on client 102 and archives one or more statesof activity on client 102. In some embodiments, overlay client 302 maybe configured to periodically connect to open overlay service 106 andperform various operations requested by open overlay service 106.

Browser 304 is an application that runs on client 102 and provides aninterface to access information on network 108, such as information onservices 104. Browser 304 may be implemented as well known programs,such as Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, NetscapeNavigator, and the like.

Service applications 306 run on client 102 to support the servicesprovided by services 104. For example, service applications 306 may beapplications, such as a browser, an instant messaging client, a musicplayer (such as iTunes), and the like that are provided from services104. Other examples for applications 306 are well known to those skilledin the art.

User data cache 308 provides a cache that indicates the activity of auser at client 102. For example, user data cache 308 may includeinformation that indicates web documents, such as HTML pages, images,URL links, web site access times, and the like.

In order to illustrate some of the features of open overlay service 106that provide a live social context, several examples will now bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 4-14. FIGS. 4-14 are various screenshots of the operations and services that may be provided by openoverlay service and will now be further described below. One skilled inthe art will recognize that the various screen shots shown in FIGS. 4-14are merely exemplary and that any type of web page design andarchitecture may be implemented in embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary home page that may be provided by openoverlay service 106. The home page of open overlay service is generallyintended to provide visibility of what the user and other users aredoing online, enable the user to share activities in real time, and addan integrated social context to the user's online experience.

For example, web server 208 may provide the home page shown in FIG. 4.As shown, the home page may comprise a “link swarm” section, “musicradar” section, and a TV party section. The link swarm section providesan indication of share activity with or by a user. The music radarsection provides an indication of music preferences and play listactivity. The TV party section provides an indication of link swarm andchat activity for various television shows. These sections are merelyexemplary and one skilled in the art will recognize that the home pagemay comprise different sections. For example, the user may configure thehome page to suit their own interests or social networks to includecontent of their own choosing. The home page may also be substitutedwith a home-logged in page, which are well known.

In addition, web server 208 may be configured to avoid empty pages forthe users of open overlay service 106. For example, web server 208 maybe configured to provide web site feeds or generate random content forpages that are empty. Application server 202 may also create randomgroups in order to avoid empty pages.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary button that may be installed on browser304 for open overlay service 106. For example, as shown, a “link swarm”button may be added to the toolbar of browser 304. The link swarm buttonallows the user to instantly share and chat about a site on network 108,such as a website, by simply clicking this button.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary account settings page that may beprovided by open overlay service 106. For example, web server 208 mayprovide a page that allows the user to specify public information,friends only information, and security information. This information maythen be stored in user database 210.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary friend list page that may be provided byopen overlay service 106. For example, upon request by client 102,application server 202 may retrieve information from user database 210and determine the friends of that user. Web server 208 may then provideinformation about the friends of the user in the form of the web pageshown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary group list page that may be provided byopen overlay service 106. For example, upon request by client 102,application server 202 may retrieve information from user database 210and determine the groups of that user. Web server 208 may then provideinformation about the groups of the user in the form of the web pageshown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary invitation form that may be provided byopen overlay service 106. For example, as shown, a user at client 102may provide basic contact information, such as an email address, andother information, such as a subject and message for use in aninvitation. Web server 208 may provide this invitation form as astandard web page with entry fields. As the user enters the information,web server 208 may then pass this information to application server 202.Application server 202 may then store this information in user database210 and send the invitation via email.

As also shown in FIG. 9, web server 208 may also provide the user a listof pending invitations. These pending invitations may have beeninitiated by the user or by other users in the group. The list ofpending invitations may be provided by web server 208 in order toprevent redundant or conflicting multiple invitations to the same user.

In one embodiment, open overlay service 106 provides a multiple invitegroup feature. In one scenario for a multiple invite group, open overlayservice 106 detects a new user has been invited by a user. Open overlayservice 106 may then advertise this invitation to other users, such asother users that are in a group with the inviting user. Open overlayservice 106 forms a temporary group of these users. Thus, when theinvited user joins, open overlay service 106 notifies all the users inthe temporary group.

In another scenario for a multiple invite group, open overlay service106 detects when a new user has been invited by multiple users. Openoverlay service 106 may detect redundant invitations based on theidentity resource (e.g., email address) used by the inviting users andbased on a time interval, such as 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, etc. Inresponse, open overlay service 106 may create a temporary placeholderaccount for the invited user and a temporary group for the invitingusers. Until the invited user completes their registration, the inviteduser is only visible to the temporary group by their temporaryplaceholder account. In some embodiments, this may be highlighted to theusers using colors, different fonts, etc. When the invited usercompletes their registration with open overlay service 106, all theusers in the temporary group are notified. In addition, open overlayservice 106 may convert the temporary placeholder account into apermanent account that is visible to all users once the new user hascompleted registration. Alternatively, open overlay service 106 mayrequire one or more conditions before allow the new user to have apermanent account. For example, open overlay service 106 may require oneor more users attest to the identity of the new user. As anotherexample, open overlay service 106 may require that a certain amount oftime pass before allowing the account to become permanent. This trial orprobationary period may allow the other users to determine if the newuser is undesirable or ill-behaved, such as a spammer or fraudulentparty.

In some embodiments, in open overlay service 106, each user will haveone of three unidirectional relationships with each other user. Inparticular, a user may consider another user a friend, a blocked user,or a stranger. Most other users will start as strangers to each other.However, if two users interact, then open overlay service 106 willupdate the unidirectional relationships to blocked user or friend. Forexample, a user may label another user (such as a spammer) as a blockeduser. Alternatively, a user may label another user as a friend. Whenthis occurs, the user may gain visibility to contact information andpublic groups that the user is a member. Of course, one skilled in theart will recognize that other relationships, such as degrees offriendship, may be implemented in embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates another exemplary group list page that may beprovided by open overlay service 106. As shown, web server 208 mayupdate the group list page previously illustrated in FIG. 8 to indicatepending invitations to potential new users of the group.

In some embodiments, open overlay service 106 provides several types ofgroups. Public groups can be seen by any user, joined by any user, andposted to by any user. Friend groups may be joined by invitation only byany of the group members. However, these groups may be visible to allusers and may even allow postings by non-members. Private groups arecompletely invisible to non-members and only members can add new users.When a group is shared with a user, that user may then become a memberof the group and may receive information about posts to the group.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary link swarm enabled by open overlayservice 106. As shown, a first user may initially come across a web siteat service 104 that they would like to share. For example, this user mayclick on the link swarm button on web browser 304 shown in FIG. 5. Inresponse, this event is detected by open overlay service 106 via webserver 208. Application server 202 may then query user database 210 anddetermine other users that share with the first user. These other usersmay be explicitly identified by the first user or implicitly determinedby application server 202, for example, based on the topic or groupmembership of the first user.

Application server 202 may then trigger messaging server 204 to send anotification to the respective client 102 of the recipient users. Thenotification may appear in the form of a standard dialog box or pop-upwindow at client 102.

As shown in FIG. 11, if the other users choose to look at the web siteimmediately, open overlay service 106 may also enable these users tochat with each other in real time. FIG. 13 shows an example of a link“swarm” as it may appear on client 102. This chat may be brokeredthrough one of services 104. For example, the users may each have anaccount on a particular instant messaging service. Accordingly, openoverlay service 106 may then trigger overlay client 302 to use theappropriate service application corresponding to this instant messagingservice.

As individual users look at the web page or join the chat session, otherrecipients may be identified by open overlay service 106 to receivenotifications that indicate the activity. Open overlay service 106 mayidentify these additional users based on a variety of criteria. Forexample, if the activity reaches a certain threshold, open overlayservice 106 may select users from other groups that have commonmembership with the users participating in the “swarm” of activity.Users may then elect to join the activity or merely observe it.

For users who were offline during the initial share, open overlayservice 106 may buffer the link, comments, and associated chats in userdatabase 210. In some embodiments, open overlay service 106 may limitthe amount of time or the number of messages that are buffered. Thus, assubsequent users come online, open overlay service 106 may provide thisinformation to them using messaging server 204 and messaging agent 206,alone or in combination. This may allow subsequent swarms to occur asother users come online.

As a byproduct of this sharing activity, open overlay service 106 maycollect a set of web pages that were shared with a user or shared by auser. Accordingly, as also shown in FIG. 11, web server 208 may alsokeep track of the sharing activity of the user. For example, web server208 may provide sections on the web page in FIG. 11 that are public andindicate links shared with the user (i.e., inbound sharing activity) andlinks shared by the user (i.e., outbound sharing activity). Thus, theweb page shown in FIG. 11 provides a rich way browsing around andallowing users to discover new groups and people. Of note, due to theopen architecture of open overlay service 106, this information may beaccessible to individuals even if they do not have overlay client 302installed on their computer.

In some embodiments, for each link sharing or post, application server202 may track which user the link was specifically sent and whether theuser clicked on the link. Application server 202 may track thisinformation, such as using a list or a history of when users joined/leftgroups and calculating the information.

FIG. 12 shows another example of indicating share activity on the grouplevel. In particular, as shown, links shared with a private group may beprovided by web server 208 in the web page shown in FIG. 12. Inaddition, this web page (and others) may indicate a list of recentlyplayed songs. In particular, as songs are played on client 102, overlayclient 302 may detect this activity and record certain information inuser data cache 308. Overlay client 302 may then notify open overlayservice 106 of the recently played songs at client 102.

Open overlay service 106 may record this information in user database210 and also pass this information to other users via messaging server204 and messaging agent 206. Accordingly, as shown in the web page inFIG. 12, web server 208 information about songs that users are listeningto currently in addition to their recent play history. Open overlayservice 106 may also provide information that indicates “favorites” ofthe various users. Users of open overlay service 106 may elect to havethis information gathered passively by overlay client 302 as the listento music on client 102. As noted, this play list information may bedisplayed by web server 208 in various places throughout open overlayservice 106 and on client 102.

In some embodiments, open overlay service 106 may enable the users toacquire the actual media files from a variety of services. For example,a particular song may be available from iTunes or from Yahoo MusicEngine (which are implemented on or more of services 104). For eachmedia file, open overlay service 106 may interface with services 104 anddetermine the relevant information for acquiring that media file. Openoverlay service 106 may then store this information in user database 210and provide both sets of acquisition information to the users, e.g.,links for both iTunes and Yahoo Music Engine.

Accordingly, if a first user, Alice, is playing a particular songpurchased from iTunes, her friend, Bob, may see this activity andacquire the song using his Yahoo Music Engine service. Of course,various services may be incorporated into the open architecture of openoverlay service 106, and thus, encourage user choice and flexibility.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of “music radar” for the user. Inparticular, open overlay service 106 may provide information thatindicates preferences (such as music preferences, and the like) of theusers. For example, open overlay service 106 may provide a Flash embedto browser 304 that indicates the music preferences of a user in a blog,such as their MySpace blog, or other social networking services. Openoverlay service 106 may passively collect this information using overlayclient 302 and periodically polling overlay client 302 using messagingagent 206.

Accordingly, open overlay service 106 allows a user to indicateinformation about themselves across the various services 104 that theyare subscribed to. Some users may find this desirable so that new usersand groups who have similar interests and preferences can easily findthem.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from consideration of the specification and practice of theinvention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andexamples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spiritof the invention being indicated by the following claims.

1. A method of forming a social network of users, said methodcomprising: determining when a user has invited a new user to join thesocial network; forming a temporary group that includes the new user inresponse to the invitation; providing information to the temporary groupthat indicates existing groups of the social network; selecting anexisting group based on input received from the new user; anddistributing information about the new user among users of the existinggroup selected by the new user.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereindetermining when a user has invited the new user comprises: identifyingthe new user based on information provided by the user in the invitationform; assigning the new user a temporary identity in the social network;and distributing information about the new user's temporary identity tothe temporary group.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:providing a temporary identity for the new user; and distributing thetemporary identity for the new user to the temporary group until theuser has completed registering into the social network.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein forming the temporary group comprises: determiningother users that are interested in having the new user join the socialnetwork; and joining the other users that are interested in having thenew user join the social network to the temporary group.
 5. The methodof claim 1, wherein forming the temporary group comprises: determiningother users in the social network that are friends of the user thatinvited the new user; and joining the other users that are friends ofthe user to the temporary group.
 6. A method of forming a social networkof users, said method comprising: identifying multiple invitations to anew user; assigning the new user a temporary identity; distributing thetemporary identity for the new user until the new user completesregistration into the social network; notifying all inviters of the newuser when the new user completes registration; and converting thetemporary identity into a permanent identity when the new user completesregistration into the social network.
 7. The method of claim 6 whereinidentifying the multiple invitations comprises: receiving a firstinvitation destined to one of an email address or an instant messagingaddress; detecting at least one additional invitation destined to thesame email address; and identifying users that originated the at leastone additional invitation.
 8. The method of claim 6 wherein identifyingthe multiple invitations comprises: receiving a first invitationdestined to an email address; detecting at least one additionalinvitation destined to the same email address within a period of time ofthe first invitation; and identifying users that originated the at leastone additional invitation.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein convertingthe temporary identity into the permanent identity comprises convertingthe temporary identity into the permanent identity when the new usercomplete registration into the social network and when at least one userof the social network verifies the identity of the new user.
 10. Themethod of claim 6, wherein converting the temporary identity into thepermanent identity comprises converting the temporary identity into thepermanent identity when the new user complete registration into thesocial network and after a period of time has lapsed.
 11. A method ofviewing a user's identity in a social network, wherein the user has aplurality of associated identity resources known by only some of theother users in the social network, said method comprising: receivingfrom another user a request to contact the user based on one ofassociated identity resources of the user; and restricting views of theother user for the identity of the user to the associated identityresource used by that other user.
 12. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: receiving information from the user that binds theassociated identity resources to a master identity; and consolidatingprevious interactions with the associated identity resources into themaster identity.
 13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:receiving information from the user that binds the associated identityresources to a master identity; consolidating previous interactions withthe associated identity resources into the master identity; andpermitting views of the other user for the identity of the user to anyof the associated identity resources and the master identity of theuser.
 14. The method of claim 11 further comprising: receivinginformation from the user that binds the associated identity resourcesto a master identity; and updating an appearance of the associatedidentity resources to indicate that the associated identity resourceshave been bound to the master identity.
 15. The method of claim 11further comprising: receiving information that indicates unilateralrelationships between the user and the other user; and restricting viewsof the other user for the identity of the user based on the unilateralrelationships.
 16. The method of claim 11 further comprising: providinga list of people that the other user knows within the social network;and displaying the associated identity resources for each person in thelist of people.